Sports Leagues Need to Go Beyond the Scoreboard to Compete for Hearts 

Lots of ground yet to cover for sports brands trying to create customer intimacy. 

Sports leagues rank seventeenth out of all industries in this year’s Brand Intimacy Study, led by the Olympics, ATP, and NBA. 

Despite commanding vast audiences and shaping global culture, the category’s Brand Intimacy Quotient (BIQ) of 21.8 falls below the cross-industry average, though some brands stand out.  

The Olympics continues to embody unity and shared purpose, with its power rooted in collective ideals rather than commercial competition. The ATP thrives by offering fans mastery and insight into the performance and precision of its players. The NBA, driven by player narratives and cultural relevance, has become as much a lifestyle as a league. Together, these leaders showcase a category defined by evolving ideas of access, fan engagement, and cultural cachet. 

The gap between the passionate displays of consumer captivation we see in broadcasts and the BIQ signals a challenge. Sports brands seem to excel at generating momentary excitement but face an uphill struggle in developing sustained emotional bonds. 

Sports league brands perform well in the archetype of enhancement, a marker of brands that make people feel smarter, more capable, and more connected. Watching a game is just a single part of a connected sports entertainment ecosystem in which fans can participate. Today, we have a whole slew of new platforms and tools to analyze, bet on, and live these games. From fantasy sports to post-match breakdowns, leagues have mastered the art of empowering fans through accessible data and storytelling. The ATP and Olympics exemplify this approach, providing immersive experiences that blend athletic performance with analytical perspective. 

Among the twenty-two industries studied this year, sports leagues rank first in the percentage of users in bonding, the middle of the three stages of Brand Intimacy. However, the industry also ranks lowest in sharing, the first stage of Brand Intimacy. This imbalance suggests that although leagues may take longer to establish initial attraction, once fans engage, the relationship deepens quickly. 

The Olympics continue to symbolize unity through equality while also invoking patriotic sentiment. The recent 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina drew a record 23.5 million viewers in the United States, making them the most-watched Winter Games since 2014.¹ Women’s leagues are also experiencing record growth: the WNBA’s 2024 season was the most-viewed regular season ever across ESPN platforms, with an average of 1.19 million viewers, a 170 percent increase from last season.²  

These leagues are holding strong to themes of representation and purpose, making progress synonymous with participation. These brands demonstrate that performance is not the sole factor responsible for creating the emotional consumer bonds that lead to growth. Success also hinges on more intangible factors such as alignment with cultural momentum. 

Leagues are also increasingly judged on the values they stand for. Initiatives around sustainability, mental health, and social inclusion, from NBA Cares to NFL Total Wellness, are reshaping what victory means. In a time when athletes speak out on justice, equality, and belonging, leagues that strive to enable purpose cultivate lasting intimacy. 

Despite commanding vast audiences—more than 3.7 billion fans worldwide³—sports leagues face deep structural challenges. Younger fans are rewriting the rules of engagement: they follow highlights, memes, and players, not institutions. Although engagement remains massive—over 71 percent of U.S. adults followed at least one league in 2024⁴ on platforms such as TikTok or Twitch—fandom is episodic and personality-driven. For brands such as the NFL and MLB, this generational shift may be eroding the ritual of sports because games join the ever-growing list of things competing for attention on screens. 

Over-commercialization also threatens connection. With betting, sponsorships, and branded integrations flooding every screen, fans increasingly feel more marketed to than inspired. The emotional exchange, once about pride and belonging, now risks being reduced to transactional moments. Leagues that once offered escape now compete with entertainment ecosystems designed to capture attention at any cost. 

Traditional giants such as the Olympics and MLB must walk a delicate line of modernizing their approach without eroding nostalgia. The Olympics face scrutiny over costs and politics even as it remains a global beacon of unity. Meanwhile, younger formats such as UFC, Formula E, and eSports need to evolve beyond spectacle to build enduring emotional connections. 

The future of intimacy in sports will depend on how leagues balance innovation with authenticity. Fans crave access, but they also crave meaning. They want connection, not just content. Whether it is the Olympics celebrating shared humanity, the NBA amplifying cultural narratives, or the WTA redefining representation, the most intimate brands will be those that see fans not as consumers but as participants in a shared story. 

Sports have always been about emotion: anticipation, exultation, and heartbreak. True connection arises when fans feel that the league understands and represents them while also growing with them and sharing in the joys and sorrows of those emotions along the way. 

The story of sports leagues in 2025 is one of potential and paradox. No other industry seemingly commands such devotion, yet it is unable to translate that passion into stronger Brand Intimacy. The category’s emotional strength is undeniable, but its challenge lies in building quieter, more enduring forms of connection. 

As the next generation of fans rewrites what it means to belong, leagues must evolve from broadcasters to bond builders. The scoreboard may still measure points, but the future of sports branding will be measured in hearts won, not games played. 

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¹NBCUniversal, “NBCUniversal’s Presentation of Milan Cortina Olympics Dominates Media Landscape, Delivers Largest Winter Games Audience since 2014,” NBC Sports Pressbox, February 15, 2026, https://www.nbcsports.com/pressbox/press-releases/nbcuniversals-presentation-of-milan-cortina-olympics-dominates-media-landscape-delivers-largest-winter-games-audience-since-2014 

²WNBA, “WNBA Delivers Record-Setting 2024 Season.” WNBA News, October 21, 2024, https://www.wnba.com/news/wnba-delivers-record-setting-2024-season 

³SSRS, “The Sports Equinox: When All Major U.S. Sports Collide,” SSRS Insights, October 26, 2024, https://ssrs.com/insights/the-sports-equinox/  

⁴Telecoming, Digital Fans: European Sportech Market Analysis 2024–2028, February 2024. https://www.telecoming.com/report-digital-fans-european-sportech-market-analysis-2024-2028/